House of Fire
by ncislove
Summary: And then it all burned down.
1. Chapter 1

This won't be the longest in comparison to my other fics (I don't think… though I have a nasty habit of saying 'this won't be that long…' and then 30+ chapters later…).

I would also like to make it clear that any parts of this fic that are similar in ANY way to a fic previously published is STRICTLY by coincidence. I can't read them all and I have not, nor will I EVER copy someone else's fic. If you have any concerns, please pm me.

And thanks to my lovely ladies… you know who you are (and many of you owe me fic). And if you haven't read it, everyone should read Chirugal's fic 'Cut & Run'. It's not complete yet, but I love it and the more people that bug her for more chapters, the better. And feel free to tell her that I sent you.

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><p>"Gibbs?" Abby dusted the snow off her jacket and stepped inside the familiar house. It was a risk to visit him today, but it had been a long week of nothing but cases that involved kids, the latest they hadn't been able to save. To top it off, it was the anniversary of Shannon and Kelly's deaths. Everyone had noticed the change in his demeanor, and Vance had decided to give them all Friday off, giving them a long weekend and Gibbs the chance to work out his frustrations in the basement. She didn't plan to stay long; it wasn't dark yet, but the snow had already started to fall and it wouldn't be long before the roads began to ice over. She carried the large pot of gumbo to his stove and then headed for the basement door. She hesitated before turning the handle and pulling the door open. He had to have heard her, but she wanted to be sure he knew she had brought food for him. "Gibbs?"<p>

"Yeah?"

She moved down a few steps, her eyes adjusting to the dark of the basement. There was a small light on over the work bench where Gibbs stood sorting through a jar of nails.

He looked up when she hit the fourth step down and gave her a weak smile. "Checking up on me?"

Abby shrugged. "I made a big pot of gumbo and know I won't eat it all, so I brought some over."

"So… checking up on me?"

She smiled softly. "Would you believe me if I said you're the closest to my apartment, and with the snow I don't want to venture too far?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and turned back to his task. "You can stay for dinner if you want."

"I can?"

He was surprised at the shock in her voice. "You brought dinner, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I just… I'm not here to intrude, just wanted to drop it off, let you know it was upstairs and then… then. Okay fine, I was just checking up on you. It was a tough week for all of us and…" She let her shoulder raise and then fall.

"I know." He picked up the last of the nails on the work bench and then switched off the light. With just the light from the open door, he made his way to the stairs and waited for Abby to turn up before following her to the kitchen. It wasn't often that Abby put in the effort to make gumbo from scratch like her mother used to, but when she did, Gibbs was glad that she always made more than enough to share. It usually meant he had a few days of good food. He peered over her shoulder as she turned the stove on and gave it a stir, "Looks good."

"Thanks."

They were quiet as they waited and Gibbs left her briefly to change from the saw dust covered clothes he was in, taking a quick spin in the shower before returning to the kitchen.

"I think it's warm enough now," she looked up at him, momentarily distracted by the water droplets on his neck. He was in jeans again, and his red hoodie. His hair was wet and she could tell he hadn't done any more than take a towel to his hair. Gibbs handed her two bowls and she hesitated before filling the second one. "You sure you want company?"

Gibbs said nothing, but grabbed two spoons and handed her one. He also grabbed two beers from the fridge and headed to the table, waiting until Abby had joined him before starting in. They didn't have much to say at first, although the actual cases had been hardest on Gibbs, the entire team had suffered and Abby had managed three hours of sleep each night at most. And they were comfortable enough in each other's company that Abby didn't mind the silence. She was just glad that she was getting a warm, nutritious meal into him with enough left over for dinner the next day as well.

Gibbs opened the conversation by complimenting her cooking. "Don't ever have to worry about checking up on me, if you're bringing me some of this," he stirred the gumbo. "Best I've ever tasted."

"Thanks." Despite the exhaustion evident on her face, her eyes lit up as she smiled.

When they were done, Abby stood to clean up and pushed Gibbs away when he tried to help. "I interrupted your evening, least I can do is clean up."

Gibbs grumbled but didn't protest, and instead went to his coffee machine to start a new pot of coffee. Abby was just finishing up when the coffee beeped and Gibbs automatically poured two cups, carrying them to the living room and sitting down, making it obvious that Abby should join him.

"I dunno, Gibbs… it's getting dark and it's still snowing. I don't want to spend the night in a ditch." She stood in front of the large window, looking out at the big flakes that were falling.

"You can stay the night," he had thought he wanted to be alone, but now that she was here, the idea of spending the rest of the evening alone suddenly wasn't so appealing. But he didn't quite trust himself around her, so he added, "you can have the bed. I'll sleep on the couch."

"I…" She loved spending the night at his house, especially when it had nothing to do with a stalker or ex-boyfriend. She always dreamt that one of these days he would take her to bed, but until then… curling around a pillow in his bed was the next best thing. "Okay." She took one last look at the street as it gradually became coved in white, and then went to sit beside him, accepting the cup of coffee with just enough milk and sugar. "Thanks."

Again they sat quietly, content with each other's company and eventually it was Gibbs that broke the silence. "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

Gibbs thought a moment, searching for the right words. "Know when I could really use a friend."

"I always think you could use a friend, but I wait until I just can't help myself, and that's when I come over. I'm not trying to push my way into your private life or anything like that, but sometimes I just can't help myself and I have to see that you're okay. Kind of like how you can't help yourself but do a background check on everyone that I date."

Gibbs snorted, but didn't disagree.

"At least you and Tony have started comparing notes rather than do separate searches," she rolled her eyes.

"Haven't had to do one in a while, haven't been out much?" He was curious. He was usually jealous of the men that she dated and relieved when she wasn't dating. But when she went a while without a date, he was curious as to why not. "Nothing better than hounding me on a Friday night?"

"Haven't met anyone worth my time, not that I've had much time lately, but… And I'm not hounding you," she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "I was just dropping the food off, you're the one that asked me to stay and let it get dark and icy out. So really, you _invited_ me to hound you."

Gibbs rolled his eyes, but held out his arm, welcoming her to lean against him. The day had been rough so far, his mind not straying far from the moment he found out they had died, but the longer Abby was around, the longer he went between thoughts of losing them.

Abby curled into his side, grateful he was so open to having her there. Despite being mostly worried about him, the past week had been hard on her as well and she drew comfort from his strong arms. "What a shitty week."

"Understatement." He pressed a kiss to the side of her head and tightened his arm around her.

"How do you cope with everything, I mean… sorry, I just…" All she had to deal with was the horrible cases. He had so much more to deal with.

"I have people like you who bring dinner and force me out of my basement. It makes it a little less painful, a little harder to focus on the bad."

"Gibbs," she started to pull away, "if you want some quiet time in your basement, I'm not keeping you from it. It might be too late for me to drive home, but I don't need entertaining."

"Hey," he grabbed hold of her arm, keeping her from going too far. "You help. If I wanted to be in the basement right now, I'd be there."

Abby eyed him curiously for a moment before settling back by his side. Part of her just wanted to wrap herself around him, but she didn't know where he drew the line as far as comfort. Every so often she thought there was a hint of something more in the way that he looked at her, but other than a brief look, he never gave any indication that he would be open to more. They sat drinking their coffee and watching the snow pile up outside.

"You might not get out tomorrow, either." He got up and went to the window and looked out at the street. "Not sure you'll see your car at all in the morning if it continues like this."

Abby followed him to the window and gasped. "Oh wow!" She hurried to the kitchen where she had draped her coat over the back of her chair.

"Where you think you're going?"

"I need to get my go-bag out of the trunk before I can't get to it." She reached for her boots where she had kicked them off beside the couch.

"Don't, I'll go grab it for you," he stopped her. "Don't want you slipping down the front step. Looks like it's already frozen over." Gibbs grabbed his coat from the closet and took her keys from her. The sidewalk was slippery, and he glanced back at her with a glare when he heard a soft giggle. It didn't take long for him to brush the snow from the trunk of her car so he could get it open. He grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder before closing the trunk and heading carefully back up to the house. He handed the bag over and motioned to the stairs. "It's getting late. Go ahead up to the bathroom to change, I'll put clean sheets on the bed for you."

"No, it's okay. I can sleep down here." She motioned to the blanket on the back of the couch. "Already have a blanket here. I don't need to kick you out of your bed."

Gibbs didn't want to admit that he hadn't slept in the bed in months, and that the only reason he would put clean sheets on was because the sheets currently on the bed were likely dusty. "I'm not ready to sleep yet, don't want to keep you up." He headed up before Abby could comment. He stripped the bed quickly and put the new sheets on the bed, taking extra care to make sure the corners were tight. He knew it wouldn't matter to Abby, but it one of the things he did automatically. He expected Abby to be upstairs by the time he was done, but she wasn't.

She had used the bathroom downstairs to change into her pjs – shorts and a tank – and was back on the couch, pulling the blanket from the back of the sofa. "Really Gibbs, I don't mind sleeping here."

Gibbs swallowed hard at the sight of her long, slender legs as she pulled the blanket down. "Abbs… I… I can't sleep up there." And now that he had seen her curled up where he slept each night, he wasn't sure he could sleep there, either.

Her forehead crinkled and she cocked her head to the side. "Why?"

Gibbs shook his head, his voice firm. "Go to bed, Abby."

This time Abby didn't hesitate, instead she pulled back the blanket, grabbed her bag and headed up the stairs to his room. On any other day she would've questioned that sudden change in demeanor, but today, after the week they'd had, she didn't want to push any buttons. She was glad to have been able to get him out of the basement for a little while and get some food into him. She shut the door and dropped her bag at the foot of the bed. The overhead light was off, but he'd left the bedside lamp on. She pulled back the covers, and climbed under the blankets before switching off the light. She curled up in the center of the bed, wrapping around the second pillow and pulling the blanket up over her head. She knew he was having a rough time, but she hadn't meant anything by wanting to know _why_ he couldn't sleep upstairs, she had just been curious. She assumed he would have slept better upstairs and the one person that needed a good night's sleep more than her was Gibbs.

She was just on the verge of dreamland when the door pushed open and Gibbs stood silently in the doorway. "Gibbs?" She lifted her head sleepily from under the covers, "is everything okay?"

He watched her for a moment, taking in the sight of her curled up in the center of his bed. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, keeping his eyes on his feet. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I apologize."

"It's okay," she hesitated, "I just thought you'd get a better night's sleep in your bed, I wasn't trying to be difficult."

"I know," he nodded. "Didn't deserve to be snapped at."

Abby reached out and rested her hand over his. "Really, it's okay. How many times have I snapped at you because I've had a rough day? It happens to us all."

He looked down at where her hand covered his and he smiled. He didn't deserve her friendship – she was always there when he needed her, even when he was a bastard and pushed her away. "You're too good for me, Abbs."

Abby let go of his hand so that she could push herself into a seated position against the simple headboard. "Why do you always say that? And don't give me that _second b is for bastard_ bullshit, either."

"Because no matter if I've been an ass, you just shrug and move past it. Not many would, especially if they haven't done anything wrong."

"I wouldn't have pushed to sleep downstairs if I had known… and if I hadn't pushed, you wouldn't have snapped. It was all a misunderstanding, is all." She picked up his hand and gave it a soft squeeze before looking up at him with a smile. It was hard to see his features with the only light coming in through the doorway behind him, but she knew he could see the smile on her face, and she hoped they could put it all behind them. She would wait a few days until she asked why he slept on the couch, but for today, she didn't want to push.

"We okay?"

Her smile grew and Gibbs found himself leaning in to press a kiss to her cheek, just millimeters from the corner of her mouth. He let his lips linger for a moment before starting to pull back. Abby's hand shot up to wrap around the back of his neck, keeping him from going far. She turned to him just slightly and pressed a kiss ever-so-gently to his lips. "Aren't we always?"

Instead of confirming that they were indeed okay, Gibbs leaned back into the kiss. He waited until she responded before bringing a hand up to the back of her head and pressing into it. When he pulled away, he tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, dragging a soft moan from her.

"Gibbs…"

"Hmm?" He leaned forward to press his forehead to hers.

"Don't stop."

He pulled back enough to look her over. Her lips were slightly puffy and her eyes were closed. There was the barest hint of a smile on her face and her hands were balled in the fabric of his shirt. "You sure?"

Her eyes flew open and Gibbs had to fight against a snort of amusement at the look of frustration on her face. "Kiss me again or let me sleep. I'd prefer the first."

"Yes ma'am." He leaned in to kiss her again, this time wrapping an arm around her back to pull her in closer. Despite holding her to him, he didn't fail to notice that she wrapped her arms around him even tighter as she pressed into the kiss. Her tongue brushed against his and for the first time in a long time, he couldn't stop the groan of pleasure that bubbled up. He could feel her hesitating as she toyed with the hem of his shirt, so he pulled back long enough to pull it over his head and tossed it aside. He leaned in to kiss her again, but she ducked away so that she could look over his chest and stomach, her fingers carding through the bit of salt and pepper hair she found. She pushed her palms up over his chest and shoulders, bringing her hands down over his arms and then bringing his hand to her waist, encouraging him to pull her tank top over her head.

His breath caught in his chest as her tank hit the floor and he got a good look at her breasts. His eyes were drawn to the way her nipples had stiffened to tight peaks and he found himself wanting to taste. She must have read his mind, because she wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down. He sucked one between his lips, running his teeth over the firm nub. With one arm around her waist, his other hand came up to pinch her other nipple.

"Gibbs…" Her head fell back against the headboard with a soft thud and she held him close.

He licked and nipped his way up her chest, along her neck with a detour to her spider-web tattoo and then back to her mouth. "Need you, Abbs."

She pushed him away so that she could slide down and stretch out on the mattress. He knelt over her to kiss her again and smiled against her lips when he felt her hands tugging at his belt. As soon as his jeans were loose around his hips he pushed off of her to push them down his legs and kicked them off. When she reached to tug at his boxer-briefs, he batted her hand away, determined to keep them on until he had her shorts off and had gotten a taste. He wasn't going to last long once she got her hands on him.

Abby worked with him to get her shorts off and then lifted her hips as he pulled her panties down and off. She watched with hazy eyes as he kissed all over her breasts and stomach, arching her back as he licked over her hip bone. Her knees fell outward, giving him plenty of room to settle between her legs. He suckled lightly at the sensitive skin of her inner thigh, the rich scent of her core dizzying, until he left a mark.

"Gibbs, please," she begged, her fingers scratching lightly along his scalp.

Satisfied with the way she was squirming against him, he touched his tongue to her soaked flesh, lapping at the moisture he found. Each touch of his tongue caused her to twitch and arch against him and it caused him to shift to find a more comfortable position as his hardness called for attention. When he finally touched his tongue to her clit, he groaned at the pain where her hand fisted in his hair.

"So close," she purred, "so fucking close."

He knew he was being a dick by bringing her so close to the edge and then backing off, but it was worth it to hear the need in her voice. It sent a zing down his spine and he thrust against the mattress in search of relief. He looked up at her with a smirk before burying his face between her legs again, this time zeroing in on her clit without holding back. He knew the exact moment she reached her release, and he gripped her hips tightly, continuing to work her clit and draw out her pleasure as long as possible.

He crawled back up her body, dropping random kisses over her bare skin, grinning when she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down over her. He brushed the hair from her forehead and pressed a warm kiss to her skin.

He rolled off to the side and pulled her to him, tracing an abstract pattern over her back as he waited for her breathing to settle. As soon as her fingers worked into the waistband of his boxer-briefs, he pulled away and rolled onto his back.

"Gibbs?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Please tell me you're on the pill. I don't have anything…"

"Of course, clean too."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. He had no doubt about her status and when he opened his mouth to say that he was clean too, she copied his eye roll and nodded, "I know."

With that settled, he allowed her to pull his underwear down his legs.

"I don't even know where to start…"

"Not as young as I used to be," he pulled her down over him and rolled them over so he was on top again. "Not a lot of options." He leaned down for another kiss.

"But I wanna taste," he could hear the pout in her voice, but the smile on her face made him laugh.

"Later, tomorrow," he promised. He waited for her to nod in agreement before slowly lining himself up with her slick opening. "You're sure," he asked, the enormity of the situation finally settling over him. When Abby growled instead of answered he surged forward with a kiss, pushing himself inside her at the same time. Abby cried out and for a brief moment, Gibbs worried that he had hurt her with such a forceful thrust. But as she clawed at his back, trying to maximize their contact, he figured she was okay.

"More," she panted, "God, you feel amazing."

It was quick and hard, and he wasn't proud of the fact that he was spilling into her within minutes, but for years he'd wondered what she would be like in bed, her soft curves feeding his fantasies during his daily shower. The thought of finally having her in his bed had been as much a turn on as her body in his hands.

When his thoughts cleared they were both breathing heavily, clinging tightly to each other. "That was amazing, Gibbs."

He didn't have the words to describe how he felt, so he moved in for another kiss, conveying his thoughts through the intensity of his kiss. It took a good five minutes for him to work free of her grasp so he could grab a damp cloth to wipe them both down. His cock twitched at the intimacy of the moment as he cleaned her up and when her eye brow shot up, he shook his head.

She wasn't sure, but the pieces were falling into place as to why he wouldn't sleep in the bed. "We can both move to the couch if you'd rather…?"

Gibbs shook his head and climbed back into the bed with her. "Just can't sleep in here alone." He pulled her into his arms and wrapped himself around her, sighing happily as he fit around her perfectly. Although he was still a little overheated from their activities, her warmth was welcome and he dropped a kiss to her shoulder. "Sleep tight, Abbs."

"Don't go anywhere in the morning. I want to wake up next to you."

"I'll be here."

Abby dozed lightly, waking up every few hours to check that he was still there. When she finally woke around eight to find that he was still asleep, she slipped from the bed and hurried to use the bathroom and get back before he woke. She paused as she passed the mirror to look over the faint bruises where he'd gripped her hips. She'd started to take a step when she noticed the red mark on her inner thigh. She muffled a giggle and hurried back to the bedroom.

Since she had left him, he'd rolled onto his back, his hands resting lightly over his stomach. She took the opportunity to watch him for a few minutes, something she rarely had the chance to do without Gibbs noticing. Gently she pulled back the blankets, hoping the cool morning hair wouldn't wake him. His dick was half hard in a traditional morning salute and Abby took it as a welcome invitation. Keeping her eyes on him the best she could, she used her tongue to trace up the underside of his dick before sucking the head between her lips. When he groaned, he eyes darted back up to his face and she watched as he woke slowly, his eyes flickering open to meet hers.

"Abbs…" he moaned and reached out to wrap a hand in her hair. He thrust up as gently as possible, not wanting to be too forceful, but unable to completely control his movements. He waited until the very last minute before pulling her off and motioning for her to straddle him instead. He was grateful for the view as she straddled him and lowered herself over him. He was mesmerized as her breasts bounced in his face and his grip tightened on her hips with every bounce.

He managed to hold on until she was gasping his name, her rhythm faltering. When she finally collapsed over him in a sweaty heap, he was having trouble remembering his name.

It wasn't until two hours later, their stomachs both growling that they moved from the bed. They stood under the spray of water in the shower, laughing as their stomachs growled in unison before dressing sweats and heading downstairs. Gibbs started on coffee as Abby pulled out two bowls, the milk and box of cereal.

"Sorry I don't have anything fancy for breakfast," he shrugged. He hadn't planned on having company for breakfast.

"I dunno, Gibbs. You're pretty fancy." She set the stuff on the table and the glanced toward the front door. "You think the paper delivery made it?"

"Maybe."

She went to the door and opened it up, "Gibbs…"

"Hmm?" He came up behind her and paused at the sight of all the snow. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pressed a kiss to the top of her shoulder. "Looks like another night here." It didn't look like a plow had even attempted to come down his street.

"I could think of worse things to happen," she leaned back against him, and let him turn them toward the table again. He gave her ass a pinch and she laughed as she rushed to sit down. With no newspaper to look over, they chatted quietly about life in general, keeping topics light and easy to discuss. He asked about the nuns and she told him about how a leak in the apartment above hers meant that the floors would need to be redone in both the apartment above and below hers, as well as hers.

"You lose anything important?"

"Nah, I'll probably toss the area rug in my bedroom, but I could probably dry it out if I wanted. I'm just ready for something new."

"Let me know if you need help with anything."

"Of course." When they finished their breakfast, Abby carried the bowls to the sink to wash up and let Gibbs put the rest of the stuff away. When he was done, he stepped up behind her and nibbled along her neck, only gripping her tighter when she flicked water at him. She tried her best to ignore him as she finished up the dishes, but as soon as she was done she turned in his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a heated kiss. "God Gibbs… you have any idea what you do to me?"

He grinned down at her and Abby briefly wondered the last time she had seen him look so happy.

"Hopefully it's somewhere along the lines of what you do to me, Abbs." Instead of kiss her again, Gibbs pulled her in close and wrapped his arms tightly around her, burying his nose in her hair.

They stood together for a few quiet moments before Abby broke the silence. "Did you want some time in the basement or can we snuggle on the couch? I have a book in my bag if you have stuff to do. Obviously, I can't leave, but you don't have to entertain me…"

Gibbs took her hand and led her out to the couch and within minutes they were both stretched out, Abby wrapped tightly in his arms. They spent the rest of the morning and well into the afternoon wrapped up in each other's arms on the couch. There were soft touches and gentle kissed and then they moved onto other topics before returning lazy kisses.

Much of their weekend followed the same pattern. They spent hours curled up together, spent time cooking. Gibbs brought her to the basement and showed her some of the projects he had going, including a rocking chair he was making for his father to have on the front porch so Jack could spend his evenings watching people pass by on the street.

Abby was thrilled to wake up beside him again on Sunday, and going to bed with him Sunday night was just as exciting. The snow had melted some and she likely would've made it home just fine, but they hadn't even made it off the couch Sunday evening before they were both naked and it didn't make sense for her to dress again and drive home when Gibbs could curl around her naked form.

The alarm went off way too early for Abby's liking after two glorious mornings of sleeping in with Gibbs by her side. "Gibbs," she groaned and rolled over to snuggle up against his chest.

"Come on, we've got to get to work." He tilted her head back to brush his lips against hers and then pulled back the blankets.

Abby grumbled the whole way to the bathroom, but giggled when Gibbs pulled her under the hot spray. They took their time in the shower, which set Gibbs in a rush to get to work on time. Abby packed up her bag and Gibbs carried it out to get car for her. "Drive safe," he told her, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

"See you later!" She waved out the window of her car and drove off.

Gibbs went over to his truck and got in, the enormity of what had happened over the weekend fully settling over him. "What have I done?"

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><p>TBC…<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

The entire ride to NCIS, Gibbs felt sick to his stomach. The weekend had been perfect, beyond perfect, but something inside of him was telling him that he'd better walk away now, before things got serious and she saw him for who he truly was and walked away from him.

For two whole days she had the ability to make him forget about the pain of losing his wife and daughter and it was like a knife in the gut as the guilt washed over him. So easily he had pushed their thoughts away as he pulled her close. He knew that she would never deny him his memories, but eventually she would feel pushed away like all the others had and she would walk away from him. Walk away from him and leave him more broken than he already was. For his own heart and sanity, he had to end this before things got serious. It was selfish and an asshole move, but Abby deserved so much better than him. Someone who would only think of her, someone who didn't carry more baggage than the entire neighborhood combined.

It had taken a bottle of bourbon and a burned boat to get over his ex-wives. It might take a burned house to move past the memories of Abby in his bed. There was no other option; he needed to put a stop to things now. By the time he arrived at NCIS he had mostly convinced himself that he and Abby could never have that happily-ever-after. _Mostly._

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><p>Abby was surprised that she didn't see Gibbs all day. She knew they had caught a hot case, Tony had brought a Caf-Pow! down and said Gibbs was working them hard, but after the whole weekend together, she was surprised he couldn't make the time. <em>Or maybe he's afraid he'll be too distracted if he comes to see me,<em> she smiled smugly to herself.

A hot case meant a stack of evidence to process and she soon forgot that Gibbs didn't come to her lab as she was buried in DNA samples and blood tests to run. It was nearly seven before she was able to wrap up for the night, and she couldn't wait see Gibbs. She knew she couldn't stay with him forever, but after a few days of non-stop bodily contact, she just needed a good snuggle after a busy day.

She gathered her jacket and purse and took the elevator up to the squad room. She rounded the corner and was surprised to find the lights dimmed and the lights by their desks all off as though they had already gone home.

Abby's stomach churned. Gibbs never left before she did unless she was working late for another team and even then he usually found something to work on until she was finished. She scratched her head as she thought about it for a moment, and then headed to the other elevator and took it down to the lobby and headed out to her car.

She debated between going home and calling him or just stopping by on her way home. His house wasn't far off of her route home, so she figured she might as well swing by. That way she could get a kiss before heading home.

She smiled when she saw his truck parked in the driveway and the lights on inside. She killed the engine and skipped up the front door and let herself in. "Gibbs!" She didn't give him the chance to speak, instead throwing herself at him the moment he stepped out of the kitchen and into view. "I missed you today, but holy crap, how many people are involved in that case? You sent me DNA samples that belonged 18 different people."

"Was busy." He slowly untangled himself from her arms.

"Gibbs?" She looked at him curiously. "Is everything okay?"

Gibbs sighed. "I just need some time… to think." He had no idea how to explain that he wouldn't survive her walking away from him when their relationship ran its course.

"Oh,…" She nodded. She had interrupted him on the anniversary of Shannon and Kelly's deaths, so maybe he needed some time to remember them properly. "Okay, well I just wanted to say hi since I hadn't seen you all day. I'll see you tomorrow." She pushed onto her toes to kiss him, her eyes falling shut when he kissed her back, hard, almost desperately.

He pulled back and turned away. "Go home Abbs, been a busy day." He couldn't look at her again. If he did, he knew he would be pulled to her again, and if he kissed her any longer, he knew he wouldn't be able to let her go home. The longer he held on to her, the harder it would be to step away.

"Okay."

He listened to the sound of her footsteps as she left, his front door opening and closing and her car pulling away. He'd never felt more alone.

* * *

><p>Abby was sitting on his desk when he arrived first thing Tuesday morning. It was early and no one else was in yet so they were alone. "Not easy to sleep alone after a weekend curled up with you," she said shyly.<p>

"Abbs…" He dropped his coat over the back of his chair. "We can't… you need to get down to your lab."

"Wait, what do you mean, _we can't?_ We can't talk about it here, or we can't…" Gibbs gave her a look that said it all and Abby couldn't decide if she was angry, hurt, disappointed…. or if she wanted to laugh. There was no way he didn't feel anything for her after the weekend together. She could understand if they had slept together once and he felt it was a mistake, but all weekend? Clearly it was Gibbs in panic mode. "Gibbs…"

"Get to work, Abby."

Abby was shocked at the brush off, but rather than argue at work, she just frowned and turned toward the back elevator. Again he avoided her lab, coming down once with both Ziva and Tony with him. She tried to keep her usual pep while giving the results on DNA test showing that the victim and the suspected killer were actually related.

"Hey," Tony hung around a few extra minutes when Gibbs and Ziva headed upstairs. "What's going on with Gibbs? He seem off to you?"

"Seemed a little quiet," Abby agreed, "hasn't said anything upstairs?"

"Right, because he gossips about his personal life…. We just sit up there drinking coffee, talking about our day."

Abby laughed and shooed Tony from her lab. "Go gossip, Tony. I've got work to do."

* * *

><p>She didn't see Gibbs again that day, and by the time she was done he had gone home again, without saying anything. "Oh, no you didn't…"<p>

Abby hiked her purse up on to her shoulder and headed out to her car. She drove to Gibbs house, set and determined to figure out what was going on with him. Again, his truck was outside, and the lights were on. She hurried up the front step, and went to open the door, her hand sliding off the handle under the force she'd put into it, but he door remained close. _Locked?_ "Gibbs! Open up. We need to talk."

She waited and listened quietly before pounding on the door. "Open up!" There was no answer. She knocked again and again until her knuckles felt raw. "Damnit, Gibbs… I'm not dropping this _open up_!"

She waited for twenty minutes before finally giving up and going home. She tried calling twice, and both times it went directly to voicemail.

On Wednesday the team was called out first thing, and beside Ziva bringing her finger prints to run, the team was out all day, and Abby eventually left and headed for Gibbs house. This time the door was unlocked so she went in and made herself comfortable on his couch. The clocked ticked by slowly and the sun went down. She scraped together enough for two sandwiches, leaving the second in the fridge for him. As it approached midnight, she stretched out and eventually fell asleep.

She woke with a start to the morning light streaming in from the window. There was a blanket around her, one that hadn't been there when she lay down. And there was a crumpled blanket and pillow on the chair across from her. "Gibbs?" She called out.

When there was no reply she stood and pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time. It was just before eight, so she had no doubt he had already gone to work. The coffee was lukewarm and she couldn't believe she had slept so late and not heard him moving around.

She drove home first, took a quick shower and changed and then headed in. She by-passed the squad room, not wanting to deal with Tony asking why she was in late. The day was slow and she spent much of it going over cold cases and running simple finger prints of a secondary team. She was determined to get through to him, so as soon as she was done, she rushed up to the squad room to try and catch him before he left.

Again she was too late, and McGee was the only still at his desk. "Are you the only one left?"

McGee looked up with a smile. "Yeah, Vance had a few things he wanted help with online…"

"Ooh," Abby perched on the corner of his desk. "Hacking?"

"No, not really…"

"You're the worst liar, Timmy. But I'll leave you to it. The others went home?" She asked casually.

"Yeah, 'bout 30 minutes ago."

"Hmm, okay. Well, happy hacking. See you tomorrow!" She waved cheerfully and headed for the elevator, falling back against the cold wall as soon as the doors shut. She wasn't sure how to get through to Gibbs, but now that she knew the taste of him, the feel of his hands on her bare skin, the weight of his body over hers… she wasn't ready to give up the fight.

Like Tuesday, the door was locked. She knocked and knocked and knocked until she heard him through the door. "Go home, Abbs," he call out.

"No! We need to talk." She rested her forehead against the door.

"Go. _Home_."

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Oh for fuck…" She headed back down the step and circled around to check the back door. She wasn't going to leave before they talked. She wasn't surprised to find the backdoor locked. She was halfway around front when she noticed that one of the basement windows was cracked open. It wasn't a big window, but with a little wiggling she was sure she could get through. She tossed her purse in first and then lowered herself to the work bench and then to the floor in the basement.

She stomped up the stairs, not caring if Gibbs heard her.

"Abby, what are you…" He hadn't expected her to go to such lengths to get in.

"We need to talk, but all you seem to want to do is ignore me. What's going on?"

"I told you Abby, we can't… just go home."

"I'm not leaving until you give me something to work with here." She poured herself a cup of coffee and went to his couch. "Explain it to me, say _something._"

"There is nothing to say."

"Funny, because I think there is plenty to say. Did you forget what happened this weekend? Because I'm pretty sure we had sex, lots of it, and I'm pretty sure you enjoyed it as much as I did. Or do you not remember?"

"I remember." He had remembered every night in the shower.

"Do you regret it? Was the sex bad? Was I just a warm body to help you forget for a while?"

"No!" He couldn't let her think it was _her _that was the problem. If he could just get a handle on what he felt for her, he could box it up and hide it away. Abby would eventually move on and they could be friends like they were before.

"So then you just don't care about me… about what I want? It was a weekend of fun, but… you've moved on? I don't believe that, Gibbs. Because if it had just been a fluke, a one-time _lets have a little fun¸_ we wouldn't have had sex all over your house," she shouted, her anger picking up steam. "Your bed, against the wall, in front of the fire," she pointed to the rug in front of the fire place, momentarily distracted by the image of him lowering her to the ground. She jumped up and pointed to the couch. "Here on the couch, bent over the table… Was it just a little exploration then? You needed to _clean the pipes_ and your right hand wasn't working for you?"

"No." Gibbs swallowed hard against the lump in his throat and shook his head. "I'm broken, Abby. I can't drag you in to my mess."

"You're joking, right?" Gibbs was startled at the loud laugh the bubbled up from her. "You think I don't know about how hurt you've been? You think you're the only one with baggage? You think that scares me?"

"Go home, Abby. Don't make this harder than it is."

"You're not even going to give me a chance? That's it? You've made that decision for us? I thought you cared about me!"

It was killing him not to wrap her up in his arms. "God, I do… you have no idea."

"You sure have a funny way of showing it, Gibbs." She shook her head. "If that's your idea of love, you've got so much to learn."

"Just go." His voice was firm and he pointed to the door. "Just leave me alone." The moment her car was gone he launched his coffee mug across the room and watched it shatter against the wall, the last bit of coffee splashing down his wall. It wasn't until she threw out the L-word that he realized just how much he truly loved her.

* * *

><p>On Friday Gibbs didn't see Abby at all. The two times he went down with Ziva in search of results or to drop off evidence, Abby wasn't in her lab. They knew she was at NCIS and later he found that she had been in autopsy with Ducky. He wondered briefly if she had told Ducky what had happened, but when he talked to Ducky, the older man acted as though nothing was different. He headed home alone, and now out of habit locked the door. He had made sure the window to the basement was locked that night after she had broken in.<p>

All evening he listened for the knocking he was sure he would hear. She had been over every night so far so there was nothing to make him think that she had given up. The idea that maybe she was over him was both a relief and a disappointment, though he wouldn't admit it. He moved restlessly around the basement, sweeping the floor and putting a few odds and ends away.

Eventually drifted up stairs and settled on the couch. He had meant to go upstairs and change, but the next thing he knew it was light and he had slept through the night in his work clothes. All day Saturday, Gibbs expected Abby to show up. He spent his day doing laundry and cleaning up around the house. He wasn't big on decorations or anything like that, but he liked to keep things tidy and dust free. Every time he passed a window, he glanced out to the street in front of his house. He couldn't understand why he was so certain she would show up, or why he seemed to want her to. He wanted her to move on, but at the same time he so desperately wanted her to still want him.

He tried to sleep on the couch, but every which way he moved he couldn't get comfortable. He slowly headed upstairs and stood in the doorway, looking over the bed that he had last shared with Abby. He lay down but tossed and turned and every time his nose got nearer to the pillow he could smell Abby. He tried to sleep, but once the sun started coming up he knew it wouldn't happen so he moved back to the couch for a cat nap. He had started off dreaming about Shannon. He couldn't talk to her or touch her, but he could watch her as she and Kelly played in the park together. He was content to sit in the shade of a large tree and watch them laugh and run.

"_Look mommy, she's here now!" Kelly pointed off into the distance._

_Shannon held her hand up to her forehead to shield herself from the bright sun. "I see. Why don't you run to her?" Shannon gave her a little nudge and Kelly took off as fast as she could._

_Gibbs squinted against the harsh light to see where Kelly was running. She disappeared from his sight for a moment, and then he saw Abby as she came up over the hill, Kelly hanging from her back, her small arms wrapped around Abby's neck. "Abby…" He sat up a little straighter._

_Kelly's laughter was the first thing to reach his ears._

"_So good to finally see you," Shannon smiled warmly as she helped Kelly down from Abby's back. "We weren't expecting you so soon, but now that you're here…"_

_Abby smiled brightly and despite his concern, Gibbs found himself smiling along with her. "I thought it might be awhile longer, but… it's wonderful to meet you too. I've heard so much about you."_

"_Look!" Kelly tugged on Abby's skirt. "I've got a tattoo just like you!" Kelly pushed the sleeve up on her arm to reveal a sparkly temporary unicorn tattoo._

"_Oh wow, that's so cool!" Abby leaned down to look at it closer._

"_Abby?" Kelly pulled her sleeve down and looked up at her with eyes that matched her fathers. "Did it hurt?"_

"_When I got my tattoos? You've got one, did it hurt for you?" Abby grinned._

"_No…" Kelly shook her head. "When you died."_

_Abby straightened up slowly, her gaze going to Shannon. "I don't…. I don't remember."_

* * *

><p>TBC….<p>

Ok, so this won't be as long as I first thought, but I am working on a longer one that is already past 27K.


	3. Chapter 3

_So sorry about the delay! I've had some computer issues and I'll be without it for a few days next week – oh noes! And to those who send msg's about turning this into a femslash crack!Fic shipping Shannon & Abby (Shabby, lol)…. HAHA, what would poor Gibbs do! Ya'll make me laugh._

_But it's late, the dogs need a last walk before bed… but I thought I'd hurry and get this up._

_Anyway, carry on…._

**Chapter Three**

* * *

><p>Gibbs startled awake, gasping for breath. He had dreamt about Shannon and Abby meeting before, but Shannon was always alive when they met. His gut churned and he couldn't fight off the feeling of dread. He had been miserable all weekend and if he hadn't been so miserable over Abby, he would've called to invite her out for dinner – even before they had slept together, she seemed to be his go-to person for when he needed to ease his mind. He got up to make coffee, pacing back and forth in the kitchen, unsure of what to do. If he went to her now, he knew he couldn't push her away anymore – it wouldn't be fair to her and he didn't think he could physically walk away. But she hadn't been over since Thursday so on the off chance she was really moving on, he didn't want to get in the way of that. He still firmly believed that he wouldn't survive her walking away if they let their relationship continue to develop only for her to walk away later on. But pushing her away now, while he could have the chance to have a few months of happiness wasn't easy.<p>

He left the coffee to brew and grabbed his keys before heading out to his truck. He moved on autopilot as he drove to her apartment. He was oblivious to the dark cloud in front of him as he neared her apartment, but he started to smell the smoke before he turn the corner that brought him to her building. There was a large crowed outside huddled in the far side of the parking lot. His tires squealed as he turned into a parking spot and jumped out of his truck. Once he was out, he could see the flames licking their way up the back side of the building where Abby lived.

"Abby!" He cried out as he ran toward the crowd looking for a familiar pair of green eyes or black pigtails. "Abby Sciuto, have you seen her? Abby!" He recognized a few of her neighbors and continued to push through the crowd when everyone just shook their head, no one had seen her.

He heard the scream of more sirens and ran toward the building entrance. If she was still up there…

"Hey man, no one is going in…" Two firefighters stopped him and pushed him back toward the rest of the people waiting.

"I'm looking for Abby…. She lives up there…" He pointed to her second story window.

The firefighter held up his hands and shrugged. "We can't get into the building… either she got out on her own, or… but the building is unstable. We've got to fight this from the outside."

Gibbs headed back to the crowd and pulled out his phone, dialing her cell. It rang and rang and then went to voice mail. He hung up rather than leave a message and called DiNozzo instead. DiNozzo's phone rang until it too went direct to voice mail. He didn't leave a message with Tony either – he knew that if the boss called, it was expected that he call back.

"_Did it hurt… when you died?"_

Kelly's voiced echoed in his head and Gibbs tried to shake free of the thoughts as he went back to search the crowd.

"_I… I don't remember._"

"Abby!" circled the crowd again, calling out for her and asking anyone he vaguely remembered from her hall. "Have you seen Abby?"

"Abby… the tall, skinny goth girl?"

Gibbs cringed at the description and nodded. "Yes, Abby."

The middle-aged woman nodded. "I saw her picking up her mail this morning. Haven't seen her since."

Gibbs turned away. "Have you seen Abby…?" His cellphone interrupted him and he saw Tony's name and number flash on he screen. "DiNozzo!"

"Hey boss, we gotta come in?"

"Abby's building is on fire!"

"Yeah, I know," Tony sighed. "I wish there was something we could've done, but…"

"Something we could've…" Gibbs didn't understand how Tony could be so calm.

"Yeah, I mean we talked to the fire chief and it sounds like it started in the unit above Abby's. They were working on drying out the insulation from the leak, but faulty wiring likely caused a spark and an building that old… the fire spread inside the walls faster than they could get to it, so they had to evacuate and well… "

"You talked to the fire chief?"

"Yeah, I flashed my badge when I picked her up."

"Abby… Abby's with you?"

"No, I just dropped her off at her hotel."

"Hotel?"

"She hasn't called you yet…"

"DiNozzo!"

"Yeah, uh… boss, she moved to a hotel a few days ago so they could redo all the floors and take out the insulation along the far wall where the water leaked. We didn't know the place was on fire until the landlord called."

"What hotel?" He didn't care about the details, he just needed to see for himself that she was okay.

Tony gave him the name and address and Gibbs rushed back to his car. The five miles between her apartment and hotel went by in a blur. He hurried into the lobby and flashed his badge to get her room number. He drumming his fingers against his thighs as he waited to be taken to the sixth floor and hurried down the hall until he found room 607.

* * *

><p>Abby startled at the loud, Gibbs-like knock on her door. It was too loud and demanding for it to be Tony if she had forgotten something in his car, but she couldn't imagine Gibbs already knowing where she was… or why he'd want to see her.<p>

She pulled open the door and opened her mouth to speak, but her words died on her tongue as Gibbs surged forward to wrap his arms around her, pressing his lips forcefully to hers. Then just as suddenly as he was kissing her, he pulled away. "Why didn't you call me?"

"Really?" She was so caught off guard that it took a few moments for the words to form. She shook her head as she tried to clear the confusion. "Because I'm pretty sure I did try to call you a couple times this week and you never answered so how am I supposed to know you'd _magically_ answer this time?"

"Abby…"

"No. Don't _Abby _ me. I just got a phone call that my apartment is on fire. I can't deal with your bullshit too. I had to move out while hey redo the floors. So thank God most of my stuff was in boxes in the basement. To redo the floors I had to move as much stuff downstairs as I could. They think the fire broke out in the apartment above mine. Firefighters think that they can keep it contained and put it out before it hits the basement."

"So you've been living in a hotel…"

"Don't ask why I didn't come over. I tried that, remember?"

"I'm just so glad you're okay."

"Don't pretend that you suddenly care about me. You made it pretty clear that you don't." There was no way she could physically push him out of her room, but she could turn away from him, so she did, crossing her arms over her chest to make a point.

"Abby you have no idea how much I care about you, how much I love you." He hadn't meant to say it, not yet, not in the heat of the moment when she was angry with him but now it was out and he couldn't unsay it. Not that he wanted to.

"How can you say that," Abby turned back to face him, tears welled up in her eyes. "You told me we can't happen, made me leave… how can you turn around and tell me you love me?"

"Because I do."

"Then why push me away?"

Gibbs sighed and turned to shut the door to her room. He then walked past her to sit on the edge of the bed. "Because I wasn't kidding when I said I had more baggage than I know what to do with."

"Why can't you let me help you carry it then?"

"Because that'll work for a week or a month before it gets to be too much and you'll walk away."

"Because that's what your ex-wives did?"

He nodded.

"So now you think of me like one of them. Think that what, I only want to be with you for your _money?_"

"No-"

"Then how do you know? Whatever gave you the impression that I would give up on you like that? If I couldn't handle your baggage or the way you're sometimes a royal asshole to the people that care about you, I would've walked away a very long time ago." Her voice quieted. "And I certainly wouldn't have spent the weekend in your bed."

He reached out to her, "Abbs…"

"I can't… I can't do the back and forth bullshit with you. Either you want me or you don't. I know what I want, Gibbs."

"It's never been a question of wanting you or not, Abbs. _Never._" When she took a step toward him, he wrapped a hand around hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before pulling her to sit beside him. "I've always wanted you, I just don't want to ruin you."

"Then go home Gibbs. I'll see you at work in a few days. I just lost my house, my home. I already talked to Vance, he's giving me a few days off to deal… with this," she glanced back at the few things she had in the hotel room. She didn't expect Gibbs to stand, instead she expected him to put up a fight or _something, _but when he stood, she covered her face with her hands and tried to hold in a sob.

But instead of move away, he pulled to her feet and into a hug, nuzzling softly against her cheek before pressing a kiss to her temple. "Come home with me."

"Gibbs…"

"Please." He pulled away from her enough to tilt her head up, hoping the expression on his face would be enough. He didn't have the words to explain how alone he had felt ever since he had asked her to leave him alone Monday evening, nor could he explain the relief he felt, holding her in his arms after seeing her apartment complex in flames.

She wanted to say no, a small part of her wanting to make him work for her time an attention, but without a true place of her own to deal with the fact that everything in her apartment was now gone, she needed the comfort and warmth of his house more than she needed to stand up to him. "Okay."

He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and picked up her suitcase and placed it on her bed. "Let's pack up what you have."

She was silent as she collected all her personal belongings from the hotel room, tucking Bert under her arm when she was all finished, thankful that she hadn't left him in her apartment.

Gibbs held the door open for her and once they were in the hall, wrapped his arm around her shoulders. He waited patiently for her to check out and then led her to his car. The ride back to Gibbs house was silent, but it wasn't tense like he had expected it to be. Abby sat with her head resting against the glass, and kept her eyes on the dark cloud of smoke off in the distance.

When they pulled up to his house, Abby didn't wait for him to open the door for her, but Gibbs held back the glare he normally would've sent. He might be a hard-nosed bastard when it came to most things in life, but his father had raised him right, and opening the door for a lady was one thing he'd never grown out of. But with everything that had happened, opening the car door for Abby was something he was willing to let slide. He grabbed her bags from the back of the truck and carried them inside behind Abby.

"You want me to lock the door?" she asked. "Or was it just to keep me out?"

"Lock the door," Gibbs set her bags at the base of the staircase and went over to her, wrapping his arms around her and burying his nose in her hair. "Keep us in."

"Is this just because you saw my apartment in flames?"

"No," Gibbs shook his head. "Why do you think I saw your building in flames? I was looking for you. Come sit with me," he nodded over to the couch and went to sit, pushing his blankets and pillow out of the way.

"You still sleep down here?"

"I told you…" He rolled his shoulders as he sat and waited for her to curl up to his side. "I can't sleep up there."

"But last weekend…" she felt the tips of her ears redden. "We got _some_ sleep up there."

"Because you were with me," he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "Kept the bad dreams away."

"So you're sure… about us now?" Abby pulled away and looked up at him. "I wasn't kidding when I said I can't deal with the back and forth."

"I pushed you away this week because I didn't want to hurt you, and even more selfishly, I didn't want to be hurt. In the end I hurt us both."

Abby moved to straddle his lap and cradle his face in her hands. "You've got to believe that I would never, ever hurt you Gibbs."

"I know. I wish I could say the same, but I already have hurt you and for that I'm-"

"Forgiven," she knew he was sorry, could see it in his eyes. She didn't need him breaking a rule, she was unsettled enough.

"Don't deserve you…" He leaned back and pulled her in close, "but damn lucky you'll have me."

Abby snuggled in against his neck and slowly let her guard down, allowing herself to cry over her burnt apartment. She knew much of the items that were on her bookshelf had been boxed up so she could move the bookcase around from room to room as the floor were redone, but all her artwork was now gone, photos of friends and family. The photos of family she was certain she could get copies from her brother and she hoped that Tony had a few of the older team photos from when Kate was around. But her antique bedframe and the coffin in the guest room were two items she was attached to.

He stroked her back softly as the wet tears soaked through his shirt, pressing an occasional kiss to her forehead and murmuring reassurances against her ear. He could tell the exact moment her mind turned from her apartment to him – her thighs tightened against his and she gently nibbled at his neck and jaw. "Abbs, slow down…"

She lifted her head to look at him, her hands curled in the fabric of his shirt.

"When we do this, we do it upstairs. But you need food first."

"Gibbs, I'm not-"

"Food first, I've got a lot to make up for and I don't plan on getting out of bed afterward." He leaned forward and brushed his lips across hers before kissing the tip of her nose and over her eyelids. "Come on, we can have something quick, but something tells me you haven't had anything to eat lately."

Before she could open her mouth to respond, her stomach grumbled loudly.

"See?" He nudged her off his lap and together they went to the kitchen to look over what he had.

"I'm going grocery shopping for you tomorrow." His fridge was almost completely empty, so she reached for the milk. "We're having cereal, because I refuse to wait for delivery." She poured herself a bowl and then hopped up to sit on the counter as she ate, despite the soft glare from Gibbs.

It took roughly five minutes for them to finish and clean up. Abby hesitated in the doorway and turned to look at him. "Anything else you need to do before…"

"Upstairs." He took her by the hand and tugged her up the stairs. Once inside his room he used his foot to nudge the door shut and then pressed her up against it. He could just feel his body beginning to respond when her cellphone, in her pocket, began to ring. "Answer it." He pressed his face against her neck and worked to slow his breathing as she dug her phone out and answered.

"Yes, this is Abby…. Uh huh… ok, and when do they think that'll be? Yeah, and the insurance? Okay. Yes, thank you. I'll talk to you tomorrow…. Yes, bye."

"What was that?" It was clear by the way her body had tensed that the call was about her building. He went and sat on the edge of the bed and watched her carefully as she followed and sat beside him.

"That was the landlord. Fire is out, but it needs to cool and they need a building inspector before they can let anyone in. The building is a total loss, but from what they can see from the outside, the basement storage units seemed to be untouched, so a lot of my smaller things, photo albums… should be okay. The insurance company will be out tomorrow, and will have more specific details on how to make a claim."

"Sounds like things are under control?"

"Yeah," Abby nodded. "I mean, it wasn't the greatest building, but the people are nice. I just feel bad for the others in the building. They don't have a _Gibbs _waiting to swoop in and help them out." She was quiet for a moment and then fell back against the mattress. "What a fucking mess."

Gibbs reached out and brushed his fingers over her cheek. "You want to relax and take a nap?"

"Are you kidding, I'm in your bed. I can think of at least eight things I'd rather do than nap right now…." Her face darkened, "unless you'd rather… well, nap."

"I want to do whatever you want to do, as long as it's together. Nap… or those other eight things."

"I just want some time where I don't have to think about everything else."

A cocky grin spread across his face. "I could probably help with that… but you've got to let me."

"I'm all yours." She sat up again to lift her shirt over her head, but Gibbs stopped her.

"Let me," he repeated.

She nodded her agreement and scooted toward the center of the bed as he directed. He kicked his own shoes off first and then stretched out beside her, pulling her into his arms for a kiss. He kissed her until he felt her relaxed, rubbing his hands up and down her arms, soothing away any last shreds of doubt. By the time he sat up again, her eyes were closed and her lips swollen from his kisses. He lifted the hem of her shirt just a few inches so he could kiss across her stomach, dipping his tongue to her bellybutton as he moved from one side to the other. She wiggled and writhed below him, her fingers scratching lightly across his scalp. He situated himself between her legs as he worked her shirt up higher and higher until the soft underside of her breasts was visible. He left hot, open-mouth kisses as he moved up her torso until he was ready to pull her shirt over her head. The moment her shirt was gone, his mouth latched to one nipple, his thumb flicking back and forth over the other. She arched under him, gasping out his name.

"Easy Abbs." He pressed a kiss to the center of her chest before moving his mouth to give equal attention to her other breast. He tugged at her nipple with his teeth and grinned at the sound it drew from between her lips. He kissed his way back down her body, nibbling at the soft skin over her hip bones before tugging her skirt down her legs. There was a dark wet spot on her panties the combination of seeing it and the scent that came with it caused him to groan, reaching down to give himself a squeeze. In his mind he knew he needed to focus on her first, but his body was complaining. He tugged her underwear off and bent down to nibble at her inner thighs, just barely holding back a laugh when she cursed at him.

When he zeroed on the glistening, wet skin between her thighs, she cried out his name. They were both rewarded when she almost instantly reached her orgasm at the combined touch of his fingers and thumb. He kept at it, drawing out her pleasure as long as possible until she pushed him away, needing a few minutes for the intense sensitivity to subside.

He licked his fingers clean and scooted up along her body to wrap her in a hug, watching with a smug smile as she murmured something to him he wasn't able to understand.

"Clothes, Gibbs," she sighed. "You've got too many clothes on. I want to feel your skin."

As Abby watched through hooded eyes, Gibbs sat up and pulled his shirt off and then worked free of his pants, leaving his boxer-briefs in place for now. He stretched out beside her, sighing happily as she snuggled back into his arms, taking comfort in their shared body heat. He let her rest until her hands started to roam across his body, her legs tangling with his.

"I still think you're overdressed, bossman."

"I'm not your boss here, Abbs," he growled. He needed to keep the topic of work out of his head while in bed, otherwise he would have to stop visiting her all together, and not because he was pushing her away.

"You'll always be my bossman, my silver-fox, my…" her words trailed off as she slipped hand inside the waistband, causing his hips to jerk on their own accord, "mine," she finished.

"Yours," he agreed, removing her hands so he could continue to strip. Once he was completely naked he pulled her in close and rolled them over so that she was on her back. Carefully he sat up on his knees and pulled her hips closer to his. The tip of his dick was slick with pre-cum and he nudged himself against her folds. He took a moment to let his gaze move up her body, thankful that he had come to his senses and finally claimed what had always been his.

"Please, Gibbs…" she interrupted his thoughts, her hands running up and down his arms, "I need you."

"I love you," his gaze was intense, "you know that, right?"

"You're showing me now," she brought his hand to her lips and kissed over his knuckles and fingers and finally pressed a kiss to his palm. "I just hope it's as much as I love you."

"More." He pushed inside of her slowly, bringing her legs up to wrap around his hips before leaning over her and taking her mouth in a demanding kiss. With their bodies joined, they moved together rhythmically, the sound of skin on skin only interrupted by the breathy moans from Abby and a satisfied grunt from Gibbs. She managed to work him over to his back, her hands bracing against his chest as she rode him hard, nearly bringing herself to a second orgasm before slowly down and backing away. She grinned down at him when he growled, not thrilled to be brought to the edge like that.

They fought again for control, and this time Gibbs had her flat on her back, her wrists pinned up by her head. He nipped her earlobe and within moments sent them both over the edge. He stayed in her as he tugged the sheets up over them, wrapping them up tight despite their overheated bodies.

Eventually he slipped free from her body and he tangled his legs with hers. It was still early in the evening and by unspoken agreement, they dozed for a few hours until Gibbs brought her to the bathroom and entered her from behind as they stood in front of the large mirror.

Eventually they stumbled into the shower, spending more time with their lips all over each other than actually washing up.

Gibbs pulled on a pair of sweats and Abby tugged one of his shirts on over her small frame and they headed downstairs for a late snack before returning to bed to sleep.

* * *

><p>When she woke in the morning, Abby was alone in bed. The sun was streaming through the window and she hurt in all the right places. Despite being alone in bed, the house felt warm and welcoming and she decided to enjoy the moment. Minutes later she heard footsteps on the stairs and Gibbs appeared in the doorway.<p>

She yawned and gave him an appreciative once over. It was clear that he had been up for a while. "Where'd you go?"

"Basement. Was thinking." He had two cups of coffee in hand and set them on the nightstand.

"So help me God…" She tried real hard not to get upset.

Gibbs chuckled and shook his head. "Was looking at the wood I've got downstairs. Was thinking, if you're interested, I could make a new bed frame for you. Carve some designs into the headboard or something."

"You… you'd do that for me?"

He nodded. "Of course, it'd probably take me awhile, so you might have to stay here for a while until it's ready."

"How has no one snatched you up and played for keeps before now? I mean, you're worth it alone for your building skills!"

Gibbs leaned down and nipped at her lower lip. "Maybe I was just waiting for you."

"Can I say something really cheesy?"

Gibbs raised a brow as he kicked off his shoes and joined her on the bed, pulling back the covers and crawling in beside her. "All these years and _now_ you ask if you can say something cheesy?"

Abby giggled and rolled towards him, her hands skirting down his chest and into his sweats. "If you were inspecting wood this morning, I want to inspect wood this morning, too."

Gibbs snorted and thrust against her warm hands, groaning at the way his body instantly responded to her touch.

"Gibbs?" She pulled her hands away, ignoring the instant frown on his face. "Can you relax enough to let me have control, to let me pleasure you while you just accept it?"

It wasn't what he'd been expecting to hear. "I can try." After the night before where he'd made it his duty to keep her toes curled until he was too exhausted to continue, Gibbs decided that he could try to ignore the habit of making sure she was pleasured first.

"Do I need to borrow those handcuffs you keep stashed with your gun?"

"No," he shook his head. "I'll let you be the _boss_, but I still need to be able to touch you."

"Deal."

As soon as her lips wrapped around his dick, Gibbs' head fell back against the pillow with a muted thud. It would take a while, but he was willing to rebuild everything she'd lost in that house of fire if it meant keeping her around longer.

* * *

><p>End!<p>

I honestly thought it would be longer, but dragging it out would've been just plain mean to poor Gibbs! I do have another untitled fic in the works and it's currently at 27,000 words – so I hope you'll keep an eye out for that one!

Thank you again for all the lovely reviews & pm's. I truly appreciate each and every one!


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